‘Bad injury’ forces Johnny Walker out of UFC 311: ‘I’m devastated’

Johnny Walker was pulled from UFC 311 with an injury, the Brazilian light heavyweight announced on social media. It’s still unclear if Guskov will get a new opponent for the Jan. 18 card in Los Angeles.

Walker did not disclose which injury forced him off the pay-per-view show, but cited it was “a bad injury”.

“I’m devastated,” Walker said in a video. “A lot of hard work I put in a few months, trained a lot, and I really want to come back and do the show for you, but not this time. I wish Bogdan good luck, hopefully he can find an opponent because he probably put a lot of hard work as well, so hopefully he can find a replacement very soon.”

“I know this is not good news, but I have to make a right decision and accept this and recover, come back strong because now,” he added. “Everybody knows I’m a dad now, Caio is my little baby, I have to fight for them, for my family, and I have to put myself in the best position for come back strong and all, take step by step. Sorry guys, but I’ll be back stronger, heal as quick as I can and come back to put the show on again.”

Walker (21-9, 1 no contest) was aiming to rebound from a three-fight winless skid against Magomed Ankalaev and Volkan Oezdemir, searching his first octagon victory since winning three in a row over Ion Cutelaba, Paul Craig and Anthony Smith between 2022 and 2023.

Guskov (16-3), who trains with Walker’s brother Valter Walker in Russia, reacted to the news social media, wishing Walker to “feel better, sh*t happens.” Guskov scored back-to-back finishes over Zac Pauga and Ryan Spann in 2024, collecting $50,000 performance bonuses for both victories.

UFC 311 is scheduled to take place at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, but could be moved to a different location due to the wildfires that are currently affecting the state. Islam Makhachev will defend his lightweight title opposite Arman Tsarukyan in the main event, while 135-pound champion Merab Dvalishvili faces undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov in the second to last bout of the night.